Antibiotic-resistant bacteria: Who is winning the battle?

Physicians and clinicians face an ongoing challenge: to keep up with increasingly stubborn, resistant bacteria that cause significant infections. The more exposure bacteria have to our available antibiotics, the higher their chances of evolution into a resistant form, with serious effects on medical care.

The heavy use of antibiotics, from hand soap ingredients to prescriptions, for conditions that won't even respond to an antibiotic is fostering the proliferation of these heavy-duty bugs. Over the past 10 years, the number of resistant bacteria has proliferated at an alarming rate.

One mechanism of response is to reduce the overuse of antibiotics in general - something we can all help with, in the interest of more appropriate treatment and the health of the environment.

Another important approach is to make sure the antibiotics used are the ones most effective in killing the bacteria causing the infection. A targeted antibiotic that does the job right and knocks out all the bacteria stops that organism's opportunity to learn and evolve into a stronger form that poses a more serious health risk.

from WSU research news